Judge imposes 21 life terms against woman who sexually abused her two sons, family dog
FORT PIERCE — Shortly after a jury convicted a Port St. Lucie woman of 84 felonies related to sexually abusing her two young sons and the family dog, a judge ordered her to serve 21 life prison terms, according to a state prosecutor and court records.
Natalie Jesslynn Wagner, 28, also was ordered to remain behind bars 800 years in addition to the nearly two dozen life terms imposed June 19 following a two-day trial before Circuit Judge Lawrence Mirman.
Assistant State Attorney Katy Reid called Wagner’s crimes “one of the worst sexual abuse cases I’ve ever seen.”
“I mean, a mother doing this to her infant 1-year-old son and her toddler 3-year-old. It doesn't get more egregious or evil,” Reid said after Wagner’s trial ended. “I recommended the maximum sentence and that's what (Mirman) gave her.”
Wagner’s court-appointed attorney Assistant Public Defender Mary Celedonio declined to comment.
Records show Wagner was initially arrested Aug. 11, 2022 on one count of possession of child pornography following a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding videos she posted to SnapChat that involved a “pre-pubescent male child” engaged in sex acts with an adult female.
Within weeks, Wagner faced a total of 139 felonies after investigators reviewed 18 sexually explicit videos posted to her SnapChat account that prosecutors said involved her sons and the family dog.
Her charges included multiple counts each of capital sexual battery on a child, lewd and lascivious molestation, possession and promotion of child pornography, incest and sexual activity with an animal.
“She was uploading these videos onto Snapchat and sending them out to other people for money,” Reid said. “She also was downloading them to Dropbox, where she would then share her Dropbox with other people for money as well.”
Wagner would sell the videos for between $20 and $50, Reid said.
Before her trial started, Mirman ruled Wagner would be tried only on charges related to her older son, meaning she still faces 18 felony counts.
Over two days last week, a jury of four men and two women were shown 18 sexually graphic videos and “egregious” digital messages Wagner exchanged with people who bought her videos, Reid said.
“That was graphic as well,” Reid said, “just having to read the things they were saying about what she was doing in them.”
When Port St. Lucie police investigators first confronted Wagner, she admitted owning the suspected SnapChat account, but she denied being the woman in the videos, court filings show.
When Wagner was arrested, Department of Children and Families officials removed the boys from the home, records show.
Her ex-husband William Wagner, who was living in the family home at the time the abuse occurred, testified against her as a state witness, Reid said.
Records show he was sentenced last year to five years of probation after pleading no contest to a charge of child neglect.
Family members are caring for the two boys, who are “doing well,” according to Reid.
“They're doing better. The 3-year-old specifically, I know went to therapy,” she said. “And I think it helped, is my understanding.”
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Melissa E. Holsman is the legal affairs reporter for TCPalm and Treasure Coast Newspapers and is writer and co-host of "Uncertain Terms," a true-crime podcast. Reach her at melissa.holsman@tcpalm.com. If you are a subscriber, thank you. If not, become a subscriber to get the latest local news on the Treasure Coast.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: PSL woman to serve 21 life terms for sexually abusing two sons and dog
